It has been an incredible week up here at Silver Water Wheel Lodge. But then again, I say that about most weeks on Lac Seul, as it is simply an incredible place!

The weather has been unseasonably warm, as it has been most everywhere this week. The temps were well above 30C on most days, with humidity so high that all of our big fish pictures on the photo board were curling up. I’m talking ‘bout hot! It is crazy to see the birch leaves turning yellow in the forest and the water temps reading 80F on top. So begins the most wonderful time of the year: Fall at The Wheel.

The fishing was great this week, although there were some hard days, especially in the afternoons. The wind would lie down, the lake flattens out, and we have to play the 1/8th ounce jig game. That said, overall the fish cooperated and we found both numbers and size, and of course, had lot’s of fun. Much of our success this week came from jigging deep rock, moving at slow to moderate speeds, and gearing down to more finesse approaches when necessary. Our average depths were in a larger range than normal – 20 to 38 ft., with some fish also showing up in the mid teens, possibly progressing towards fall feeding trends.

This week our guests saw 41 Walleye over 27 inches, with 7 28s, 2 29s, and 2 30” fish being caught. Volume was also good, with guide sheets averaging 35 fish over 18” a day. The highest volume day saw one boat catch 82 walleyes over 18 inches! What a fishery, that’s all I can say.

These numbers are on pace with some of our best weeks this summer once you take into account that some of our guide staff (and fearless leader Mike Willems) are now off the water and finished for the season. But the 9 of us will keep hammering away, and it is looking like a great month coming up for those guests that have yet to arrive.

I describe the pike fishing this week as “on the verge”. There were a number of afternoons that guides dedicated to chasing big pike, but only 3 over 37” were found, with one 38. By “on the verge” I mean we are entering into the prime-time for hunting trophy pike on Lac Seul, but apparently they are not yet ready to commit. Even though we only boated a few big pike this week, the roundtable reports described at least a dozen fish over 40” seen following baits, or hooking up and getting off. So the big pike are now arriving to more targetable locations for their fall feed, and our guides are getting ready to chase them around for the next month.

That’s it for the report this week. I hope you all have a great week and check back in with us on Saturday for our next report.

The end of season always sneaks up on me.I think every year I begin this week’s fishing report with “I can’t believe my fishing guiding season is over already.”And yet again, it is time to pack up and head south to get ready for Fall deer guiding season in Iowa.Missy is already there and the kids have already had their first week of school and soccer practice.

On Lac Seul, summer returned this week with some of the warmest and most humid days of the year.The weather and temperature did stabilize and the walleye fishing improved.For the week we caught and released 34 walleyes over 27 in., including 4 – 28s, and 1 – 29.Volume was good with guide sheets averaging 40 over 18 in. per day.

All of the cabins were occupied this week, but some of the groups were smaller.That combined with preparations for Fall bear hunts resulted in fewer guide boats on the water this week.Considering the decrease in effort, it was overall a good fishing week.

The walleyes did pulse back and forth between favoring main lake rock and main lake sand.Preferred depth ranges broadened with some fish moving into shallower zones while others remained deep.Most were caught between 20 and 35 ft.Jigs (1/4 oz.) tipped with live minnows were the preferred presentation.There were some fish caught on Gulp, but when the bite became more challenging, live minnows were the key.

A few guys spent some time chasing pike and they were successful.For the week, we caught and released 10 pike over 37 in., including 4 – 38s, 1 – 39, and 1 – 41.The weed beds are beginning to come apart and as the water begins to cool, the big pike fishing should improve.

Brett and the SWWL crew will continue to chase fish for another month and Jesse will take over the fishing reports for the end of season.

It was Fall weather all week again, until today. And now we are back to summer with warm, humid south winds. Conditions are all over the place and so are the guides and the walleyes.

When it is good, we tell it like it is. When it is a tough, we also tell it like it is. This week was a challenge. Walleye volume was still good. We caught tons of eaters, slots, and just overs, but the big fish were very tough to find. For the week, we caught and released 23 walleyes over 27 in., including 2 – 28s, and 1 – 29. Daily guide sheets averaged 35 walleyes over 18 in. per boat per day. The highest daily total was 73.

There were many walleyes caught off traditional deep water sand and rock spots this week. On occasion, Gulp trolled deep with big jigs was successful, particularly for big fish. But the Gulp production was still limited. We checked the shallow water bite with traditional walleye gear for poor results. Yet there were walleyes caught in the shallow weeds by anglers casting for pike with spoons and spinnerbaits. In all cases, the big walleyes were hit and miss and hard to find.

You do have to keep in mind that this analysis is based upon Lac Seul Southern basin 2013 season standards. We know we were spoiled, but we still can’t help comparing production to what we saw earlier this season. To put things in perspective, I would have called this an average – good week of big walleye production back in 2008. But now we know those big fish are out there, it is just that we are fighting the weather conditions and 5 – 10 ft. deep clouds of baitfish everywhere we turn. Fat Lac Seul walleyes are well fed. Well fed fish don’t always bite.

The lake is changing. The weed beds are breaking up and dying. The water is distinctly clearer than we have seen in the recent past. And the surface temps never peaked into the 70s as they have over the past few years. The main lake is in the lower 60s and has been for quite some time.

I will admit that I was a grumpy guide this week when I couldn’t figure out the big fish puzzle. But I did realize that I am the only one that can put things back into perspective for my guide staff. I had a first time guest in my boat today take a picture of a 21 in. walleye. And I thought – Wow, we truly are spoiled. And yet that didn’t stop me from talking up the season and pushing to move to find bigger fish. The truth is that a bad day of walleye fishing on Lac Seul is still way better than the best day of walleye fishing on neighboring water. I strive for the balance, but I know why it is hard to maintain. When it is good, Lac Seul is just sooo good. When it is slow, it is still the Best walleye game in town.

That is what kept going through my head all week. It wasn’t just a nice little hint of Fall, with a cool morning this week. It was full on, time to think about closing up camp weather. The entire week was cold; lows in the 40s and highs almost in the 60s, but not always. It rained, the wind blew, and then the rain turned cold, and then it turned really cold and windy. The coldest morning was 45.

Brett McCallum, my most senior guide and Lodge manager has been on Lac Seul for well over 20 years and even he was beside himself…. “I have never seen the entire first week of August so like mid-September …” And if the weather shocked the guides, then it did the same to the walleyes. The most significant change was the disappearance of the big fish. Areas that had been routinely producing consistently big walleyes, now only turn slots. Main lake deep water sand structures produced many small fish but very few bigs. We still managed to turn some nice fish, but it was much more difficult to find walleyes over 26 in.

For the week we caught and released 42 walleyes over 27 in., including 6 – 28s, and 3 – 29s. Volume was down. Daily guide sheets averaged 30 walleyes over 18 in. per boat per day.

I was stubborn and still pulled Big gulp on jigs at speed just to see. I turned a few fish including a 26.5 today, but overall it was a “dead sticking light jig bite.” After guides fished 15 spots 5 different ways, they resorted to gearing down and slowing down over groups of marked fish. When the bite gets tough, the lightest jigs fished the slowest turn the most. The tough part is picking your spot to fight the slow fight. Pick the wrong one and you just burned an hour of daylight. Find the right one and whatever you do, don’t leave! The method this week was “find them and Grind them.” It wasn’t pretty or flashy or warm, but we still caught good fish.

The best point made this week was by Tyler, one of my second year guides. He complained with us, but as the new stats guy, he then pointed out that our new “not so good week” for 27s was twice as good as our good week for 27s on a nice week in 2008. My comment: Exactly… These are the beginning of the best of the “good ‘ole days” in fisheries terms, but the weather trumps all fisheries trends and humbles guides every time.

I go to sleep looking at the weather, I wake up looking at the weather, as I plan my fishing day, I stare at my map, then look out at the lake and then think about the weather. This week, the stats took a hit because of the weather. What surprised me is that guests at checkout were happy with production and not that concerned about the cool conditions. Several told me that they were happier that it wasn’t 90. Me, my stats, and my mildly arthritic knuckles quietly disagreed and looked forward to a warmer forecast for next week.

Fall like weather conditions continued on Lac Seul this week. Instead of a line of summer thunder storms, we had multiple days with dozens of smaller showers. Temperatures were cool and lake surface temps dropped down into the low 60s. High west and northwest winds were prevalent throughout the week.

Walleyes continued to move onto main lake summer structure this past week. Large numbers of small walleyes followed the first waves of bigger fish onto both main lake sand and rock. Volume was high most days with reports averaging 35 – 40 walleyes over 18 in. per boat per day. There were a few post frontal days when the big ones were hard to find. For the week we still caught and released 53 walleyes over 27 in., including 5 – 28s, and 3 – 29s.

The Gulp Alive bite took a back seat to ¼ oz jigs and minnows. Most of the big fish were caught deeper than 30 ft.

There was a small amount of effort spent chasing pike this week and the results were modest. For the week we caught 7 – 37s, 1 – 38, and 1 – 39.

It felt like Fall this week on Lac Seul. Temperatures dropped, the wind blew, the rain was cold, and then the wind blew again. This morning it was 48 and the high temp never made it out of the low 60s. It was definitely an unstable weather week and the fish responded the way we expected them to. Many walleyes pushed deep out onto main lake sand and rock structure. There were still some relatively shallow bites, but most of those were related to sustained high winds blowing on to a shallower sand flat. Most of the big walleyes this week were caught from 20 to 35 ft. of water. With the variable weather, live bait and lighter jigs (1/4 – 3/8) definitely produced better than the big jigs and Gulp Alive plastics.

There was a dramatic movement of walleyes onto main lake sand structure this week. These summer spots were vacant last week. I wouldn’t call them loaded yet, but they were good.

Overall, both production and big fish numbers were off their pace this week due to rough weather. For the week, we caught and released 68 walleyes over 27 in., including 12 – 28s, and 1 – 29. Average walleye volume dropped a little to about 35 over 18 in. per boat per day. Going through the weekly stats, it was interesting to note that there were 102 – 26 in. and 129 -25 in. walleyes caught and released this week. The walleye fishing future looks good!

There was almost no effort chasing pike this week. There was a beautiful 44” northern caught while walleye fishing.

It was a week of variable weather with constantly shifting winds that ended with a sharp cold front. The forecast for tonight is for lows of 48 degrees with brisk winds. The week began with some quiet periods with flat calm conditions. During the middle of the week, we had a different wind direction every day, so there never was a consistent pattern for locations.

We keep expecting to see the walleyes make the move to deeper water, but this week consistent action and big fish were caught in 14 – 18 ft. of water. There were a few fish found deeper than 20 ft., but the main lake sand structures have been dead. Main lake rock and windblown rock/sand transition were definitely key to this week’s success.

Production was once again split just about evenly between ¼ oz. jigs and minnows and Big jigs with Gulp Alive Plastics. The guides have been backtrolling plastics between 1 – 1.5 mph.

It was another great week for big walleyes. We caught and released 83 over 27 in., including 17 – 28s, 3 – 29s, and 2 – 30s. Walleye volume was also very good with daily guide sheets averaging 40 walleyes over 18 in. The slower periods during flat calm conditions were balanced out by some fast bites when the wind blew.

Very few guests were interested in spending time casting for pike this week. Despite the limited amount of effort applied to chasing big pike, we caught and released 5 – 37s, 2 – 38s, 1 – 43, and 1 – 44. As we studied the numbers, one of the senior guides tonight made the comment that the southern basins of Lac Seul have a disproportionate number of giant pike. It is the Fall phenomenon. Unlike many of the far north fisheries, we don’t have the normal pyramid population catch rate of 200 – 30s, 50 – 32s, 6 – 36s, 2 – 38s, 1 – 40, and every now and then a 42. In the southern basin of Lac Seul, you are just as likely to catch a 38 as you are to catch a 42 – 44 in the summer and fall. If we didn’t have so many big walleyes to chase, I am certain that our summer big pike numbers would be much stronger.

I am working very hard to coach both guides and guests to keep an even keel and a balanced perspective. We are not catching more walleyes than we have in the past. Good bite days are still great and slow bite days are still a chore, but the percentage of large walleyes has increased dramatically over one year. I have had many anglers ask me if I think this is based on a late ice out, and my firm opinion is that this is a population issue. The big walleyes are Just Bigger! Period!

It felt like summer at The Wheel this week. It was warm and a little humid for our standards with the occasional shower, but overall it was just a nice weather week. At the risk of being repetitive, it was also another excellent fishing week in the Southern Basins of Lac Seul.

The mayflies are emerging on the main lake, but it really never affects our walleye fishing. There are actually times that we will locate pods of walleyes suspended beneath the floating exoskeletons in the wind driven current lines.

There are still some walleyes on the deep side of the weed beds, but this week they were smaller with more slots and unders. Most of the big walleyes this week were found on main lake rock shorelines in 12 – 20 ft. or on the windblown sand flats in 12 – 18 ft. Once again, many of these fish were suspended anywhere from 2 – 6 ft. off the bottom relating to balls of suspended baitfish. Guides employed several different techniques to target suspended walleyes. Some reduced jig size and increased speed to float baits on long lines up off the bottom. Others cruised at 1 – 1.5 mph until they located a pod with their electronics and then stalled the boat and fished them vertically with ¼ oz. jigs and minnows. A helpful piece of information is that 1 full revolution of a Shimano 2500 sized spinning reel brings up roughly 2 feet of line. Guides would make a quick estimate how high off the bottom they were marking fish and advise the number of cranks to pull up off the bottom.

It was about 50/50 production between light jigs (1/8 and 1/4s) with minnows and Bigger jigs (3/8) and Gulp Alive plastics. The Gulp ripple shad paddle tails worked well and the Crazy legs jerk shads were also top choices in white and chartreuse.

For the week, we caught and released 75 walleyes over 27 in., including 13 – 28s, 6 – 29s, and 1 – 30. Walleye volume was up with guide sheets averaging close to 40 fish over 18 in. per boat each day. The highest daily total was 78.

There was a small amount of effort put into chasing pike this week and the results were modest. We did post photos in the dining room of 6 over 37 in., including 1 – 40 and 2 – 42s.

After you factor in the “new normal” for top end size for walleyes, it felt like a really great mid-summer week of consistent weather and consistent big walleye production. The fish are on the move towards their summer haunts on the main lake. The “usual” spots have been good and we have added several new spots to the summer mix as well.